NH House votes to kill casino gambling bill

Action seen as major defeat for governor's budget

UPDATED 12:35 AM EDT May 23, 2013

CONCORD, N.H. -

The New Hampshire House on Wednesday voted to kill a plan to allow a casino to operate in the state.

"In spite of the most intensive lobbying pressure ever, in spite of the most arm-twisting ever in this legislature, it still goes down. They barely gained any ground compared to last year," said Jim Rubens with Coalition Against Expanded Gambling.

The House voted 199-164 to kill the bill, which would have allowed 5,000 video slot machines and 150 table games at one facility.

Lawmakers then reaffirmed the vote by voting 212-152 against reconsidering their decision.

Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan had made the casino plan a major part of her budget, relying on $80 million in revenue from a casino licensing fee. She had heavily lobbied the Democrat-controlled House to pass the bill.

"I'm going to continue to work with members of both chambers and both political parties to try to make progress toward our priorities and I'm going to continue to fight for those," Hassan said.

Supporters said expanded gambling was the best way to fund higher education, highway improvements and other state programs. But opponents said a casino would cause other problems and tarnish the image of the state.

"Sixty-three percent of the people in this state support it; it is what it is, and we have to move forward," said Sen. Lou D'Allesandro.

Some lawmakers also said they were voting against the measure not because they oppose expanded gambling, but because they were against the specific bill.

Copyright 2013 by WMUR.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.